the essential guide - Texas Council on Family Violence

A common way abusers instill fear in victims is to threaten to have <strong>the</strong>ir children removed. This isparticularly true in cases involving immigrant victims. Misunderstanding of <strong>the</strong> system can lead victims tonot disclose abuse. In some circumstances, victims have been charged for neglect or failure to protectbecause of remaining in a violent home.InvestigationCPS investigates and makes a determination if child abuse or neglect occurred. CPS determinations arereason to believe (that abuse or neglect occurred), unable to determine (if abuse or neglect occurred), orruled out (no abuse or neglect occurred). The CPS case may be closed, regardless of <strong>the</strong> determination, if<strong>the</strong> child is currently safe and not believed to be at risk for future abuse or neglect.Services OnlyCPS may stay involved with a family by creating a service plan outlining certain steps <strong>the</strong> parent can taketo avoid additional action on <strong>the</strong> part of CPS. CPS may require participation in support services as a partof <strong>the</strong> safety plan. This involvement is termed services only.Court-Ordered ServicesCPS may elect to seek a court order mandating <strong>the</strong> parent to participate in services and follow a serviceplan. If <strong>the</strong> court is not aware of <strong>the</strong> abuse, an unsafe or incomplete service plan may be ordered. Noncompliancewith court-ordered services can lead to removal of <strong>the</strong> children from <strong>the</strong> parent’s care.TerminationIn severe cases, CPS seeks to terminate parental rights. This can happen if <strong>the</strong> parent is non-compliantwith CPS or if <strong>the</strong> parent does not wish to regain custody of <strong>the</strong> child.Legal Advocacy vs. Legal AdviceAs you can see, navigating <strong>the</strong> civil and criminal justice system is a challenging arena where survivorsneed a great deal of support. To provide that support you must know your role as an advocate, but alsounderstand <strong>the</strong> limits of that role.Advocates CAN provide general legal information, referrals and support to survivors. Advocates CANNOTprovide legal advice, counsel orrepresentation.You may want to remind survivorsyou work with that you are not anattorney and cannot provide legaladvice.An Advocate’s Role…Inform survivors of <strong>the</strong> “Affidavit of Non-Disclosure”form to request address confidentiality.At survivors request, join for interviews & initialmeetings regarding benefitsTHE ESSENTIAL GUIDE: AN INTRODUCTION TO ADVOCATING FOR SURVIVORS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE34 | P a g e